Missile Defense for the US involves development of defensive weapons (missiles) that can be launched to intercept and destroy threat missiles launched by adversaries. In order to develop and test these defensive capabilities, MDA requires that target missiles be designed that faithfully represent known and expected threat vehicles.
A major challenge within the target missile community has always been to identify the exact location of first contact between a defensive missile and the target missile to which it is directed. The exact location is needed for two reasons:
(1) The defensive missile designers must know how well their guidance and control systems are working.
(2) Lethality assessment must show that the target has been completely neutralized.
Instrumentation systems integrated into target missiles have been designed to provide this information. Several technologies have been used to perform the location of the initial contact and transmit this information off the target to ground evaluation personnel—they include: (a) Grids of fiber optic materials organized into X Y grids so that any interruption of signals within the grid may be associated with two broken paths, (b) Grids of wire having signals present from one end to the other that are organized in grids to pin point initial contact by breaking the wires, (c) Make Screens that are layered conductive patches that are charged with electrical current. When a penetration of the screen occurs, the conductive layers are shorted and the voltage is dissipated. Although simple, the make screen is not an accurate locator of initial hit point since the entire screen is rendered inoperative with a single hit.
All three technologies and variants from different manufacturers become very difficult to use when targets begin to take on complex aerodynamic shapes. The problem is further complicated when the vehicle demonstrates the ability to maneuver and thus the defensive missile must be able to track any aspect ratio of the target and the initial hypervelocity impact (“HVI”) may occur at any point on the target vehicle.
What is needed in many instances is a “gap filler” technology that could be used in concert with the primary lethality assessment technology.
None of the known inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant disclosure as claimed.